Her Story Told
by Perditus
Summary: [Post At World's End] Elizabeth gave herself up to the temptation.  After all, wasn't that what being a pirate was all about?  A Jack and Elizabeth one shot.


**Author: **Perditus

**Title:** Her Story Told

**Disclaimer: **The characters in this story are not my creation, they belong to Ted and Terry.

_i._

She had been told the stories of buried treasure and ruthless pirates long ago, safely secured in her four poster bed, snuggling into her mother's arm in England. Of course, the Elizabeth Swann listening to fairy tale stories, believing in the prospect of becoming a picturesque English woman had died crossing the Atlantic Ocean after her mother's death. Years later when Elizabeth stood on the same ship over looking the black waves below, she discovered that her soul and spirit would have never allowed her to become the _perfect_ women. She was far too stubborn for that.

Her feet tumbled as the black sail above appeared to suck all the air out of the sky, causing the Pearl to collapse into the waves. Smiling into the salt filled air, she heard the distinct grumble of the captain's cursing, his only response to a question. A pair of ragged, lopsided footsteps dragged across the deck; stopping directly behind the rail Elizabeth was leaning against, face still toward the ocean. The voice slurred profound, drunken statements as the figure moved toward her resting spot alongside the railing.

"Aw," he whispered into her ear, body pressing against her side. "Didn't see you there, love."

He pulled the half-drunk bottle of rum to his lips, her eyes closed as she absorbed his salty, rum taste. She gave herself up to the temptation; after all, she had given up her picturesque life for something of less certainty. Their bodies turned in a tango filled with mystic, limbs intertwining in a symphonic melody across the deck. The act reminded her of being dragged to formal dances in Port Royal. Her billowing gown swirling behind her, resembling a rag doll, being pulled in every direction among her never ending string of partners. Yet their intriguing movements aboard the Black Pearl did not resemble an ounce of her former society life. She was not at the disposal of those around her; she was the captain of her life and choices, not a doll to be pulled at one's disposal.

Elizabeth Swann stood within inches of Jack Sparrow, eyes intertwining, his hand resting on her waist. Taking a step forward, closing all the gaps between, her hand moved to rest on his face as their lips shifted toward the other. He aimed and missed as the young Miss Swann dodged his advance, resting her lips against his check instead.

"I thought you knew the necessity of _seeing_, captain."

He felt her warm breathe linger on his tanned skin, as her hand slid from his face onto the arm holding the bottle of rum. Circling the rim of the bottle with her fingers, Elizabeth drew the amber liquid to her lips.

"Drink up me hearties, yo ho," she sang slipping out of Jack's grasp, her voice dancing as she slipped away from him.

His eyes remained drawn to the lady, no pirate, as she slid into the darkness of the Pearl. He allowed his body to slump against the railing, completely lost in the rattling sound of his thoughts. The legend of Jack Sparrow dissolved with the water, the moment he dived into the harbor to rescue the drowning damsel in distress. Little did he realize that the damsel he was supposed to save did not exist. He witnessed the evolution of Miss Swann from the girl who gracelessly danced on an abounded beach, to the Pirate King that had seduced him aboard his own ship.

It had been over a year since he had last seen her. She was married to William the eunuch, Jack let out a snicker at his own thought, and off to start a new life with him. They bid a bittersweet farewell; the emotions were masked as she slipped to the boat waiting below. Neither would ever say that they felt a sense of sorrow. Jack would never admit that the case of rum he drank was to drown the darkness surrounding his soul; Elizabeth made herself believe that the tears she cried were for William leaving, not for the emptiness Jack had caused.

They were too caged birds locked in a world known for its hanging restrictions against piracy. He searched the seven seas for any news of the famous Captain Swann. She scanned the coast with the faint hope of seeing black sails on the horizon. Both were destined to live a life of their choosing, yet perhaps the one they did not wish to be a part of. Two years after their final act, he spotted her in Tortuga. Words did not have capability of expressing the explosion of emotions erupting between them. Tortuga was the last location Elizabeth Swann wandered as an uncertain woman. She began her life anew aboard the Black Pearl with no strings attached to her former self, the Miss Swann of Port Royal.

They sailed the seas as the two most "vicious" pirates of the Spanish Mane, living the life of two birds finally given the chance to spread their wings. As they sat aboard the Black Pearl deep into the evening, gazing into the stars, she would stare at Jack who would occasionally hum the forgotten tune she had taught him long ago; knowing that her life with Jack was not the picturesque image of her childhood fantasy, but she wouldn't change it for anything, not even for a bottle of rum.

The crushing waves hit the side of the Pearl, awaking the captain from his thoughts. He was in the mood for rum, and the pirate who had commandeered it.


End file.
